(JEWISH VOICE NEWS) Federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island on Friday ruled that the Biden administration cannot halt food assistance payments under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), delivering a temporary reprieve to millions of Americans facing uncertainty over their benefits.

“There is no doubt—and it is beyond argument—that irreparable harm will begin to occur, if it hasn’t already, in the terror it has caused some people about the availability of funding for food for their family,” said U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence.

In Boston, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a similar decision, finding that the “suspension of SNAP payments was based on the erroneous conclusion that contingency funds could not be used to ensure continuation of SNAP payments.”

Both McConnell and Talwani were appointed by former President Joe Biden.

Responding to the rulings on Truth Social, President Donald Trump said that government lawyers had warned his administration lacked the legal authority to pay SNAP benefits from certain funds—but that the conflicting court opinions now required clarification.

“I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT,” Trump wrote. “Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.”

The president again blamed Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown, urging citizens to pressure Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to approve legislation reopening federal operations. “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay,” Trump added.

Roughly 42 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits for food assistance. Recent polling indicates that a greater share of the public blames Democrats for the current shutdown than during the one that occurred in Trump’s first term.

Trump closed his statement with a direct appeal: “If you use SNAP benefits, call the Senate Democrats, and tell them to reopen the Government, NOW!”